Donald Small feels like a new man. After years of enduring
debilitating back pain, he's finally feeling well enough to coach his daughter's
soccer team, to take his kids fishing and camping, and to go on a cruise with
his wife. He said goodbye to sickness, short tempers, the heating pad, couch,
sedating medication, and seemingly ineffective surgeries after he sought the
services of a pain specialist.

"It's changed my whole life," says Small, who now wears a
prescribed patch on his upper arm, which steadily administers a pain-killing
medicine.

The 40-year-old registered nurse is resigned to the idea that he
will probably be on drugs for the rest of his life because of permanent nerve
damage. All the same, he's marveling at his renewed strength and capacity to
think of something else besides pain.

Small is one of many who have turned to pain management experts
for help with never-ending hurts. The specialty is relatively new and still
suffers from misconceptions, but it is gradually earning the acceptance and
respect of both health professionals and the general public.